Passengers have had to deal with losing time and money since the shut down of Spirit Airlines Saturday, and now other airlines have stepped in to help those passengers during this period of uncertainty. Since the Dania Beach-based airline shut down, stranded passengers at Fort Lauderdale Hollywoo d International Airport are wondering what comes now. “What’s next? And how do we get our refund?” said a stranded passenger. Spirit Airlines said in a statement that they will automatically process refunds for any flights purchased through them, but if you booked your flight through a third party, you’ll have to go through that third party to get refunded. With all flights grounded, passengers have been searching for new airlines to take them where they need to go. “We got to look for another way to get to Colombia, we could fly Copa but we’d have to go down to Miami to fly through Copa and it goes to a different town not Armenia, it’s very inconvenient for us,” said a man. Other airlines have stepped up, offering rescue fares at discounted or capped rates for Spirit passengers in need of a way home. “I made the budget, everything was already arranged, now, that’s the big question,” said a traveler. However some airlines have deadlines for those rescue rates. Southwest, Delta and JetBlue are extending those rates through Wednesday, but Southwest will require passengers to secure those rates in person. United has given flyers up to two weeks with an option to get them online. Travel experts say the transition will take time. “There’s not an endless supply of seats to rebook on and we’re even hearing of some stranded passengers in select markets like Orlando, for example, that are waiting, you know, a few days to get rebooked,” said travel industry analyst, Katy Nastro. The impact on flyers now is evident, and with Spirit out of the market, it could reshape how we fly and for how much moving forward. “In this current market, because of the operating costs, higher operating costs due to the higher price of jet fuel, it’s likely that we are in for a more expensive time frame for the unforeseeable future,” said Nastro. JetBlue announced Monday that they’ve added expanded flights to 11 different cities as well as adding a loyalty share match for those Spirit customers. If you’re still looking for that refund, the Department of Transportation urged you to contact your credit card company to exercise your rights under the Fair Credit Billing Act. ...read more read less